The HyRead Gaze Plus Color is a brand new color e-reader and digital note taking device. It is the companies first stab at using E INK Kaleido 2 color e-paper, whcih will make reading comics, manga, magazines and PDF files glorious. This is a smaller device than most color products on the market and it is fairly affordable at $430 and comes with a case and stylus.
The HyRead Gaze Note Plus Color features a 7.8 inch E INK Carta and Kaleido Plus e-paper display. The resolution of the black and white is 1448 X 1072, with 300PPI. The resolution on the color panel is 482 X 357 with 100 PPI. It has a front-lit display to be able to read at night and there are around 17 white LED lights. The screen is completely flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass.
One of the most exciting factors is being able to draw in color. There are around 19 colors to choose from. You can use these as a color palette for drawing, grading papers, writing notes or making annointatins in any document or ebook. The screen has a WACOM layer on it, so you can buy the optional stylus for $39 or use your own. There is total of 4096 degrees of pressure sensativity and the screen also has palm rejection. Drawing on the screen is fairly good, there is enough friction, so it doesn’t feel like you are writing on a slab of glass. I like how you can use this as a pure color e-reader or an e-note, it is up to the user to determine it.
Underneath the hood is a Quad-core processor 1.8 GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You should have amble room for your book collection, but since you will likely want to import a bunch of PDF documents to edit, there is an SD card that is capable of an additional 512GB, which is really amazing. The vast majority of e-readers or enotes on the market have abandoned SD cards, but Hyread is a pleasant exception. There is a USB-C port to charge and transfer data to the device, it also has Bluetooth 4.0 so you can listen to audiobooks, podcasts or music with wireless headphones. If you don’t feel like using headphones, there is a single speaker that has a capable audio system. It is powered by a 3200mAh battery and can become fully charged in only about 2.5 hours. It also has a built-in microphone for voice communications or audio dictation.
Android 11 is the operating system and there really isn’t any app store to speak of, instead you will want to install a 3rd party app market such as the Amazon App Store, Samsung Galaxy Store or the Good e-Reader App Store.
The retail packaging is terrific, they have a gradient color scheme that is using pastels, it lists the make and model in English, as well as Chinese. HyRead is based in Taiwan, but they have always supported a pure English UI, to appeal towards broader markets. There are light tech specs on the back, and it includes a bunch of certifications. When you open the box, the e-reader is encassed in wax paper, instead of a static proof plastic bag. I like how the industry is moving in this direction, getting rid of plastic where you can. There is a quick start guide and warranty information and a white USB-C cable.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
